Do you drive a stick shift car?

[yakers]

One of each, can't imagine a Miata with an automatic.

Hated the automatic/stick transmission on the rented Smart car, put me off the whole design.

My first car was a motorcycle.

 

[Martha]

I drive a Jetta stick, diesel.
I learned to drive on a tractor. If you can drive those buggers you can drive anything. By the time I was 14 I was careening down the country roads in an International pick up. I had to sit forward on the seat to shift. I still remember sliding back on the seat when stopped on a hill, desperately trying to keep my foot on the clutch.

 

[SarahW]

I can drive anything. However, one hour in Houston rush-hour traffic is enough to convince anyone to drive an auto.

 

[youbet]

2 auto and 1 manual in the fleet here. Unfortunately, it's the f-150 with the manual. We've learned that the manual xmission has a significantly lower towing rating than the automatic. We're picking up a new camper next week and fortunately it's quite light and well within the reduced tow rating.

 

[W2R]

I had a 5-speed stick shift Mitsubishi back in the 1980's and loved driving with a stick!

At least I loved it until a medical problem impaired the use of my left arm for a few months so that I couldn't use it at all. It was difficult and a little scary to try to both steer, and shift at the same time, with only one usable arm. I found out that my legs aren't long enough to steer with my knees. At any rate, I wasn't any good at it and had to use my right arm. The steering wheel would just float free as I shifted. The experience was hair-raising both for me, and for anyone unfortunate enough to be my passenger at that time.

Every car since then has been an automatic.

 

[audreyh1]

I drove a manual transmission in the 70s and early 80s. But after many years I decided the automatic transmissions had gotten good enough, and never looked back. I got tired of the extra pedal and needing to use two hands so much.

My motorhome drives better in cruise control than with my foot on the accelerator under most circumstances. These modern transmissions are really smart!! We have an Allison transmission in our motorhome.

Don't miss the stick shift!

Audrey

 

[kyounge1956]

I drove a 5-speed Toyota Tercel for many years but my current car is an automatic. I don't think I'll ever go back to a stick. I have a stiff big-toe joint on my left foot so any time I had to use the clutch a lot it was a bit painful.

 

[F4mandolin]

Manual now. Started with auto. Owned lots of both.
1. Small cars with small engines do better with manual to use what power they have.
2. Auto's more comfortable in traffic.
3. Manual is more fun.
4. Bigger vehicles, I prefer auto.
5. Long tough hills....nothing worse than a small car with an automatic....shifts up, shifts down, shifts up, shifts down etc etc.
6. Old days, auto's got noticably worse gas mileage....difference between the two is almost gone now, and in a few cases the auto seems to be a hair better. Auto's also didn't seem to be anywhere near as dependable as they are now.

I don't know what the rules in the US are these days, but here in the UK if you take your test with an auto you are not allowed to drive a stick(or so my wife tells me).

 

[clifp]

In 40 years of auto purchases, I have had only ONE car with an automatic transmission (my Prius which I just traded in for a stick shift car). In a conversation with the salesman, he noted that nowadays most buyers didn't even know how to drive one.

I taught both my kids to drive a stick, and both prefer it. Do you know how to drive a stick? Do you currently drive one?

My first car 57 Chevy was an automatic as was my 2nd. However, for the last 25 years I've being buying stick shifts, despite (or maybe because of) living on some of the steepest streets in Hawaii.

As long as they keep making them I'll keep buying them, sticks are the only thing that makes driving fun.

 

[Rambler]

Learned to drive in a stick shift Datsun pickup when I was 12, out on the farm. Drove it and two stick shift Volkswagen vans until I was nearly 18. Those were my parent's cars. My own first car was an Olds 88, with a big V8 with an auto. I enjoyed that car, but preferred a stick. Got it for $300 bucks. Then I had a Pinto wagon with a stick, that even though gutless, was more fun in the hills than the Olds. I had a Honda Civic in the mid 90s that was a stick. Really loved that car, but DW would not drive it. Next car was auto, and have been ever since (unless you call the paddle shifters on the steering wheel of my Lexus "manual"). I keep telling myself that someday I'll have a toy for myself (like a Miata) for cutting up the hills, but it is not likely to happen.

R

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I learned to drive a stick shift in high school(Vega owned by a boyfriend). My husband and I had several cars over the years that were manual transmissions. We both tried to teach our son to drive one when he was 16 but he had no interest in persevering in this endeavor. I kept trying to impart my wisdom on the matter: When in doubt, push in the clutch. My current vehicles are both automatic transmission, and it is a good thing for this old lady as I have a little tendinitis in my right shoulder.

 

[DonaldBradley]

These days we have shifted to complete automatic transmission mode - cherishing those good old days!

 

[rescueme]

I have one of each. The Miata on mountain roads is almost mandatory to have a stick. The SUV is an automatic.

Same here. The stick is in my Mustang GT vert; the SUV is a Cadillac SRX.

The SRX has an "auto-stick" select gate, but I never use it....

 

[thefed]

I have no clue how to drive a stick. My wife tried to teach me waaaay back when i was about 16.....i barely made it around the block and gave up.

How the hell was I supposed to smoke a cigarette, talk on my cellphone, chug a Mt Dew, conversate with passenger AND shift? Didnt seem possible LOL

 

[REWahoo]

How the hell was I supposed to smoke a cigarette, talk on my cellphone, chug a Mt Dew, conversate with passenger AND shift?

You kids have a lot to learn...

 

[davemartin88]

Daily drivers are automatic but I have two 2 seat roadsters that are manual and lots of fun to drive.

 

[Nodak]

My cars have been manual until about 10 years ago. was very thankful for an automatic when I had knee replacement surgery on my left leg last year. If I had still had a manual I would have been stuck at home for far too long.

 

[F4mandolin]

Oh jeeeeezzzzz....the ol' turning knob on the steering wheel. Haven't seen that for at least 30 years. The car safety folks would probably have a heart attack if they see that post.

 

[RonBoyd]

Real men are secure enough to have their gears shifted for them.....

That's me! I have both but prefer the automatics.

 

[cantlogin]

A large majority of the vehicles I've owned had manual transmissions and I'm comfortable with an RTLO-18918B but most modern automatics are functionally superior to manuals in every way. Today I own an SUV with an auto and a car with a six speed manual. The manual in the Mini is more fun to drive and more annoying in traffic. It suits the character of the car and cost less than the auto. It's also one of the uncommon examples where the manual still gets better fuel economy than the auto trans version. All of my bikes have manual transmissions and I intend that they always will but there is a new generation of auto-shifting motorcycles that might become popular.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

By the time I was 14 I was careening down the country roads in an International pick up. I had to sit forward on the seat to shift. I still remember sliding back on the seat when stopped on a hill, desperately trying to keep my foot on the clutch.

Video?

 

[MichaelB]

My son drives a stick - but in Japan. He drove a stick before going there, and said learning to drive on the other side of the road wasn't too hard - but the stick was really challenging. Left foot for gas and brake, right for stick...

 

[Glo]

We've always had at least one manual-transmission car. When we retired, we bought a "cowboy cadallic" and its an automatic and its also our only vehicle. When I was young and learning to drive, my father insisted I learn to drive a manual; we did the same with our boys. Nowadays most people do not know how to drive a manual.

 

[F4mandolin]

Left foot gas Not in Japan. When you drive on the other side...pedals the same. Stick is on the left....no problem switching back and forth for me.

 

[GusLevy]

Daily commute driving in LA for yrs necessitated an automatic since "stop'n'go" traffic on a stick shift basically turns driving into a left leg work-out. These days I have a Audi no-clutch manual transmission engine which I rarely use since my main horse in retirement is a Jeep Wrangler 5-speed that is simply a fun thing to drive around in: I also take it off-road and would suggest it to others as it is one of the most inexpensive and fun things to do.